Abstract/Description

Enlargement of the European Union (EU) to include Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) has significant economic, institutional, political, security, migration and social implications for the EU as a whole. The peripheral regions of the existing EU will be particularly influenced by the effects of enlargement upon the EU economy, public policies and public sector budgets. This paper reviews implications of potential enlargement for these regions in terms of changing trade and investment patterns, regional characteristics (including peripherality with its complex with multi-faceted implications based upon different characteristics and functional links), and the role of macro-, transport, regional and national policies including the heterogeneous nature of public expenditure patterns, is considered. Both competitiveness and public expenditure are important to understanding likely impacts of enlargement upon regions.